To help readers of The Choice navigate the maze of scholarships available to them — as well as to further their understanding of President Obama’s recent proposal to ease the repayment of some student loans — Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert and founder of the Web sites finaid.org and fastweb.com, spent this past week in our virtual Guidance Office. Mr. Kantrowitz is the author of “Secrets to Winning a Scholarship,” published in February.

This is the final installment in this series. Readers may still post comments using the box on the original post or start a new thread below. (Some questions may have been edited.)

— Jacques Steinberg

Q.

If you feel you are not eligible for financial aid (i.e. you have a very high expected family contribution), can you still get merit aid? Should you fill out the Fafsaand CSS anyway? What strategy should you take to increase your chance at merit aid when you have a high E.F.C. (expected family contribution)? Also, what about scholarships which don’t have a financial need component? — DianeRead more…

To help readers of The Choice navigate the maze of scholarships available to them — as well as to further their understanding of President Obama’s recent proposal to ease the repayment of some student loans — Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert and founder of the Web sites finaid.org and fastweb.com, is spending this week in our virtual Guidance Office. Mr. Kantrowitz is the author of “Secrets to Winning a Scholarship,” published in February.

Mr. Kantrowitz’s answers will continue through Sunday, but he is no longer accepting questions for this feature. Readers may still post comments using the box on the original post or start a new thread below. (Some questions may have been edited.)

— Jacques Steinberg

Q.

How do you pay for college when you don’t qualify for need-based aid, all in-state schools have rejected your student, and the only opening is an out-of-state public school with $30,000-plus/year in expenses? Are loans the only option? — JoAnneRead more…

To help readers of The Choice navigate the maze of scholarships available to them — as well as to further their understanding of President Obama’s recent proposal to ease the repayment of some student loans — Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert and founder of the Web sites finaid.org and fastweb.com, is spending this week in our virtual Guidance Office. Mr. Kantrowitz is the author of “Secrets to Winning a Scholarship,” published in February.

In this fifth round of responses, Mr. Kantrowitz addresses questions extending from inheritance to divorce.

Mr. Kantrowitz’s answers will continue through the weekend, but he is no longer accepting questions for this feature. Readers may still post comments using the box on the original post or start a new thread below. (Some questions may have been edited.)
— Jacques Steinberg

Q.

My son’s father and I divorced long ago and each of us has remarried. My ex and I have joint custody, but neither of our spouses has legal ties to my son. I have heard that different colleges have very different policies about whose incomes “count” in determining financial aid. This will make a huge difference in our case, particularly since my ex’s wife is very well off (although she has college-age children of her own she is paying heavily for and cannot afford to take on more). If all four of our incomes (mine, ex’s and two spouses) are used, my son probably won’t qualify for much of anything. However, if his actual parents’ incomes are used, he will probably qualify for a fair amount.

How can we find a list of colleges that consider biological parents’ assets but not “married in” assets? And what about families in which a high-income parent took off, remarried, and does not have custody. How do they find colleges that consider custody rather than biology? — EmilyRead more…

To help readers of The Choice navigate the maze of scholarships available to them — as well as to further their understanding of President Obama’s recent proposal to ease the repayment of some student loans — Mark Kantrowitz, a financial aid expert and founder of the Web sites finaid.org and fastweb.com, is spending this week in our virtual Guidance Office. Mr. Kantrowitz is the author of “Secrets to Winning a Scholarship,” published in February.

In this fourth round of responses, Mr. Kantrowitz addresses questions on merit scholarships and federal loans.

Mr. Kantrowitz’s answers will continue through the weekend, but he is no longer accepting questions for this feature. Readers may still post comments using the box on the original post or start a new thread below. (Some questions may have been edited.)

— Jacques Steinberg

Q.

I planned to encourage my senior to apply for a number of local scholarships. But I have read that many financial aid offices simply subtract any such winnings from any grant money they might otherwise give the student. Is this often the case? If so, it seems that the scholarship benefits the school, not the student. — *m*Read more…

We seem to be in a bit of a sweet spot when it comes to paying for college. We have two children who will be in college within three years. We have saved enough to foot the large $40,000/year bill for one of the kids, but that will wipe us out of our college savings. What strategy do you recommend? — Amy

Are there student loan opportunities for students from high income families? While we can afford the tuition (we will have two sons entering college in the next two years) we want our sons to share in some accountability for paying their tuition. — Jane Stanley

I have borrowed for the first two years for my twins to attend college. I’m frightened that I will not be able to borrow more, and there are two years left. Is there any real practical source for students to borrow enough to attend college? If not the banks with their high interest rates, then where? Pell grants, etc., if they continue, are insufficient for tuition and other expenses. What are families to do? — LoreneRead more…